It's got lots of dubstep wobbles in it. And lots of industrial stuff. There's glitchy stuff. Plus, it's a rock song as well. Well, apart from the techno-like section in the middle. So, umm, I've got no fucking idea what it's about!

I've had the backing track for ages. I'd been listening to Nerve and some Jojo Mayer rubbed off, I guess. But I could never get the melody and lyric right. Until about a week ago. Then the light came on over my thick skull...and here the song is. Done at last.

What the heart wants

Huge departure for me. NO DRUMS. First song I've ever written that didn't have a percussive backbone. The chord structures get more complex as the song progresses. Starts out with simple triads, but by the end, all the chords are 7ths and 9ths.

First Ghost Of Winter (Loss pt 1)

I wanted the harmonic richness of jazz with the accessibility of rock/pop. And to comment on something that would probably get a famous person "cancelled." I rely on what the science tells me. Not on the emotions of hysterics. In this case "xy equals male" and "xx equals female." No arguments. XY ≠ XX. As black and white as 3 ≠ 4. I'm talking both about biology here, and the importance of free speech, of not having to play by the rules of a game to which I didn't agree.

Two Genders

Tiger Hunts Alone

Airing dirty laundry. I worked out at around age 10 that there was something "wrong" about my mother. This song is decades of pain poured out. And maybe some catharsis for others as well. Be well...and know that the abuse you suffered was not your fault.

Broken Footsteps

In 1695, Baroque composer Henry Purcell wrote a piece called "Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary." I've always loved how it changes key through each iteration of the chord progression, but I wanted mine to modulate by minor thirds rather than by a tone each time. It is still a sombre piece. But also a celebration of moving on, and how we all do it in our own time.

People Stopped Asking (loss pt 4)

It's dark. It's brutal. Kinda like a cross between Killing Joke and Nine Inch Nails. With some Gary Numan thrown in for good measure!

Forgiveness - My Kalashnikov

Sweet, sad and emotional. The story of love unsought. Compared to a reference to Dickens, of love gained but lost so badly that once was enough. An unusual song for me in that it has no drum part, no bass part, and the middle-eight of the song gets smaller, rather than larger. Add to that, no external instruments (whole song done "in the box") other than voice, and it's way out of my comfort zone!

Pressed Flowers

A lyric with a twist. A conversation with my reflection. The chord progression under the verse is the most popular chord progression of the baroque period. "La Folia" is to baroque what the "axis" progression is to pop.

Broken Together

What's the weirdest thing for a drummer to do? I reckon it's to record a song with no drums. Or percussion. Or bass part. This song is vocals-only. The keyboard sounds are all choirs. Plus a whole bunch of fx.

Be Still

It has an untrustworthy narrator, but it's not Randy Newman. It has a shuffle groove, but it's not Steely Dan. It has a harmonically-rich electric piano part, but it's not Supertramp. And it has a brass part at the end, but it's not Glenn Miller.

Perfect Affair

Shadows On The Wall

I wanted to try some close jazz vocal harmonies in an industrial setting. Because...why not?

Poor You

They say revenge is a dish best served cold. But they also say revenge is a double-edged sword. Perhaps, as here, it's just a lose-lose situation.

Her Letter

You know that weird place in a relationship where you're not sure how the other person feels? You want more, but you aren't sure if the other does too. So, if you say how you feel, you risk rejection, but if you don't, you're stuck in limbo. That's what this is about.

If I Told You (What then?)

Beautiful War

Started out as a drummer shortly after the last ice age. 

With the advent of electricity, I grew sick of being the guy who hung around with the real musicians, so decided to teach myself to write songs. 

Years later, and studio hours too numerous to mention, I've reached the point where I don't suck at it.

I do what I can with the engineering side, but due to some industrial deafness, there's bound to be things I miss. 4kHz? What the fuck is 4kHz? Ohhhh, right....that's the area that's buried in all that tinnitus!

This is the point where most bios will pad the writer's ego, inflating self importance...which I hate, but I'm human, so here's just a bit. Spent years playing sessions, mostly for bands you've never heard of but also for a heap of adverts you probably have. Learned lots of studio craft from some very talented people. Studied production with a Grammy Award-winning producer/engineer for seven years. 

And none of it means a hill of beans in respect to the following question: is the music good? If you think so, then little else really matters, does it?

I have three studio assistants. All are feline, and none of them like asparagus.

eyesaw

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